§ 26-8a-253. Statewide trauma registry and quality assurance program.

(1) The department shall:

(a) establish and fund a statewide trauma registry to collect and analyze information on the incidence, severity, causes, and outcomes of trauma;

(b) establish, by rule, the data elements, the medical care providers that shall report, and the time frame and format for reporting;

(c) use the data collected to:

(i) improve the availability and delivery of prehospital and hospital trauma care;

(ii) assess trauma care delivery, patient care outcomes, and compliance with the requirements of this chapter and applicable department rules; and

(iii) regularly produce and disseminate reports to data providers, state government, and the public; and

(d) support data collection and abstraction by providing:

(i) a data collection system and technical assistance to each hospital that submits data; and

(ii) funding or, at the discretion of the department, personnel for collection and abstraction for each hospital not designated as a trauma center under the standards established pursuant to Section 26-8a-254.

(2)

(a) Each hospital shall submit trauma data in accordance with rules established under Subsection (1).

(b) A hospital designated as a trauma center shall submit data as part of the ongoing quality assurance program established in Section 26-8a-252.

(3) The department shall assess:

(a) the effectiveness of the data collected pursuant to Subsection (1); and

(b) the impact of the statewide trauma system on the provision of trauma care.

(4) Data collected under this section shall be subject to Chapter 3, Health Statistics.

(5) No person may be held civilly liable for having provided data to the department in accordance with this section.

Amended by Chapter 297, 2011 General Session